Transcript

00:00:02

>> Afghan women carving out a place on the airwaves. This weekend Zan TV will kick off its first broadcasts. A channel made to bridge the gap in the country's media. Which, like many aspects in Afghan life, is dominated by men. Here, a station by women and for women is a novelty and a risk.

00:00:22

>> Since I began working in the media, I received many threats. Even my family members oppose my jobs, and my relatives, my uncles and cousins say, it's not right for a girl to work at a TV station, but I ignore them so that I can achieve my goals.

00:00:36

>> Zan TV, or Women's TV, is run on a shoestring. It relies on a team of more than 50 young women, many of them students. The station's founder says he got the idea for the channel while sifting through job applications for another station. And saw several women were applying for an anchor job, despite the cultural taboo.

00:00:55

>> Sometimes you need to actually make the opportunity for the woman to just come and they should work. And they should prove their self.>> There's no guarantee the hard work will pay off. They're up against 40 stations in cut throat competition for viewers. But in some ways Zan TV's debut is at least a milestone for Afghanistan.

00:01:14

Only 16 years ago, when the Taliban was overthrown, women were forced to wear head to toe burkas, if they were allowed to leave the house at all. And girls were banned from school.>>